Top trotter switches to pacing

He’s been training for nearly 40 years. And has had 363 wins.

But Paul Nairn, who is recognized as a master conditioner of the trotter, has never won a race with a pacer.

It’s a remarkable statistic he hopes to change very soon, with former top three-year-old trotter Outamyway.

“He’s had a little chip in his hock since he was a yearling so I thought I’d try him pacing to take some of the pressure off,” says Nairn.

And it seems to be working. Just this week the Love You three-year-old qualified as a pacer at Ashburton. He went 3:06.2 for the 2400m, seven seconds under the qualifying time for driver Blair Orange.

“He seems to be happy pacing,” says Nairn, “he began well from the outside and did it well.”

As a trotter Outamyway has won four races, including Listed victories in the NZB Standardbred Harness Million races in 2020 and 2021. So far his stakes earnings stand at $122,140.

His conversion to the hopples doesn’t not necessarily mean his career as a trotter is over.

“He could do both,” Nairn says, “we’ll just wait and see how it goes.”

Since 1983 Nairn has lined up 1914 starters, and been associated with the likes of trotting greats Stig, Call Me Now, Habibi Inta and Dr Hook.

Success has been solely with square-gaiters though “I have trained a handful of pacers.”

Among them was Port Levy Road who was second to Remote’s Dream in June 1991 – “I sold him and he won his next start”. That was for Brian O’Meara when Anthony Butt drove him at Addington.

Now it’s planned for Outamyway to line up on the Coast over the Xmas-New Year period, Nairn hoping that elusive pacing success might not be far away.

“He could win a race or two.”

HRNZ